Service Change – Beginning Saturday, June 7, 2014

Making the transit system as efficient as possible.

Every day, changes occur to roads, businesses and communities that affect our transportation network. King County Metro Transit responds to these changes by adjusting and modifying its bus service three times each year. We want to make the transit system as efficient as possible, improve the speed and convenience of your bus trips and deliver service you can rely on.

This Special Rider Alert summarizes service revisions that begin in early June. These changes include the start of the RapidRide F Line which replaces discontinued routes 110 and 140 between Burien and "The Landing" in north Renton. The new South Park Bridge and expanded Tukwila Sounder Station open in early summer, and the new SR-520 Evergreen Point Road and Clyde Hill/Yarrow Point freeway stations open in late June. Also, 14 UW routes will have trips suspended during the summer quarter and when the UW is not in session. Please read the highlights listed for a summary of all changes, and refer to your route's new purple timetable for more details.

At Metro, we're working hard to give you easy, convenient access to the places you want to go, while helping you save money, control stress and protect the environment.

Highlights

Pick up a new purple timetable on your bus or at a Metro information rack. On Friday, June 6, complete schedule information will be available on Metro Online. You can also plan your trips online as early as May 28 with Metro's Trip Planner. Remember to enter a travel date of June 7 or later.

On Saturday, June 7, the RapidRide F Line will replace portions of routes 110
(peak-hour route) and 140 (all-day route) between the Burien TC and "The Landing" in north Renton. The F Line will operate seven days per week and provide a 10 minute service frequency during peak commute hours. On weekdays, the F Line operates from 4:45 am to midnight; on weekends from 6 am to midnight.

The F Line will operate via Burien, SeaTac, Tukwila and Renton. It will serve the Tukwila International Boulevard Link light rail station where connections to the RapidRide A Line can be made. It will also serve the Tukwila Sounder Station but will not operate via SW 27th St and Oakesdale Ave SW until the access road between the Tukwila Sounder Station and SW 27th St is completed sometime in late June. At the Renton Transit Center, westbound trips to Burien will serve Bay 3 and eastbound trips to north Renton will serve Bay 2.

The portion of Route 110 that will not be served by the F Line is along Park Ave N in Renton. Riders traveling to and from this area will be able to transfer to Metro routes 240 or 342, and ST routes 560 or 566. Vanpools are another option for connecting from the Tukwila Sounder Station and Renton Transit Center to destinations along Park Ave N.

The F Line will feature all new buses with low floors and three doors for easier and faster boarding. Other amenities include air-conditioning, free wi-fi, automated "next stop" display and audio announcements, and new passive wheelchair restraints designed to speed boarding. Stations on the F Line feature real-time bus arrival times, ORCA card readers, and illuminated route maps showing all stops and destinations.

In early summer, the new South Park Bridge is scheduled to reopen for service between South Park and Georgetown. Also, two bus stops will reopen northbound and southbound on 14th Ave S just north of S Cloverdale St, serving the South Park business community.

When the bridge reopens, Route 60 will operate its former routing on 14th and 16th Ave S between S Cloverdale St and East Marginal Way S. Route 60 will no longer operate on 14th Ave S between S Cloverdale St and Highway 99, and on East Marginal Way S between the 1st Ave S Bridge and Carleton Ave S. Operating via the South Park Bridge is expected to save about 5-8 minutes per trip in each direction.

In late June, the current Evergreen Point and Yarrow Point freeway stations will close and be replaced with the new Evergreen Point Road and Clyde Hill/Yarrow Point freeway stations. These freeway stations will be located in the center median of SR-520 in the same vicinity as the existing freeway stations and will be served by buses operating via the new transit/HOV lanes.

All routes currently serving the Evergreen Point and Yarrow Point freeway stations will serve the new transit stations except for Route 271. Since Route 271 cannot access 84th Ave NE to or from the Evergreen Point Road freeway station, it will bypass this freeway station in both directions.

For alternative eastbound service to the Evergreen Point Road freeway station from the U-District, board Metro routes 167 or 277, or ST routes 540, 542 or 556 southbound on 15th Ave NE or eastbound on NE Pacific St. Metro Route 243 can also be boarded southbound on Montlake Blvd NE. At the eastbound Montlake freeway station, board Metro routes 242, 250, 252, 255, 257, 260, 265, 268, 280 Night Owl or 311, Community Transit Route 424 or ST routes 545 or 555.

For westbound service to the Evergreen Point Road freeway station from Bellevue, board ST routes 555 or 556 at the Bellevue TC, Bay 8. For service to the U-District, board Metro routes 167, 243 or 277, or ST routes 540, 542 or 556 at the Evergreen Point Road freeway station. For service to the Montlake freeway station, board Metro routes 242, 250, 252, 255, 257, 260, 265, 268 or 311, CT Route 424 or ST Route 545 or 555 at the Evergreen Point freeway station.

Access to the boarding platforms is available via separate covered walkways on the east side of the Evergreen Point Road and the west side of the Clyde Hill/Yarrow Point transit plazas. These eastbound and westbound bus stops are not accessible to and from each other on the platform level of the stations.

At the westbound Evergreen Point Road freeway station, a temporary bus stop will be installed just east of the permanent platform for about two years until the SR-520 bridge is completed.

On Saturday, June 7, the expanded Tukwila Sounder Station, located just west of its former location, is scheduled to open.

In addition to Sounder service between Lakewood and Seattle, this facility will be served by Route 154 and the new RapidRide F Line. Board Route 154 to Boeing Industrial and the F Line to Burien at Bay 1, and the F Line to "The Landing" in north Renton at Bay 2.

Metro does not have enough revenue to run all buses at current levels, so we must reduce service. The King County Council will make a decision in early June. This will be the first of four phases of service reductions that will continue in February, June and September of 2015.

The June 2014 service change will not include any of these proposed changes.

If approved by the King County Council in early June, these service reductions may include:

The trips for the following routes will be suspended during the entire summer quarter (Monday, June 16 to Friday, September 19) when the UW is not in session. Regular service on all these routes will resume on Monday, September 22.

ST 532, 535

Schedule adjustments will be made on routes 532 and 535 to accommodate the construction reroute near the Brickyard P&R.

ST 577, 578

During the weekday afternoon peak period only, southbound Route 577 trips to Federal Way will serve the bus stops southbound on Eastlake Ave E just north of Stewart St and westbound on Stewart St just west of Yale Ave and east of 9th Ave. All southbound Route 578 trips to Puyallup will also serve these bus stops.

All northbound Route 578 trips to downtown Seattle will serve the bus stops eastbound on Howell St just east of Yale St and northbound on Eastlake Ave E just south of Stewart St.

ST 586

Two southbound trips to Tacoma leaving the U-District at 12:38 and 1:38 pm will be suspended during the entire UW summer quarter (Monday, June 16, through Friday, September 19). These trips will resume on Monday, September 22.

Routes 31, 32, 48, 65, 67, 68, 75, 167, 197, 205, 271, 277, 372 and 373 will have designated trips suspended during the summer quarter (Monday, June 16, through Friday, September 19) when the UW is not in session. Regular service on all these routes will resume on Monday, September 22.

As part of a six-month pilot project, a new, regional day pass for ORCA cards is now available for sale at ORCA retailers, ticket vending machines (TVM), pass sales offices and through the ORCA website at www.orcacard.com. The pass is good for unlimited rides all day (defined as 3 am to 2:59 am), when the fare per ride is $4 or less. When the fare exceeds $4, passengers can pay the difference with e-purse added in advance to the ORCA card, or with cash on the bus. Once tapped, the day pass is valid through the end of the service day.

The day pass costs $9 and is considered a full-fare product loaded on an adult ORCA card. If a customer does not have an ORCA card, one can be purchased for an additional $5. The day pass is valid for service on Community Transit, Everett Transit, King County Metro Transit, Kitsap Transit (bus, Bremerton foot ferry), Pierce Transit, Seattle Streetcar, Sound Transit (bus, Link, Sounder) and the King County Water Taxi. The pass is not valid on Washington State Ferries.

Metro is one of only eight transit agencies in the nation to receive this recognition from the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). Metro met targets for reducing energy use, solid waste generation, criteria air pollutant (CAP) emissions and water consumption.

Metro displaces roughly four times more greenhouse gas emissions than it generates — a net displacement of approximately 600,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTC02e) per year. Every ride you take on Metro helps reduce air pollution and creates a healthier environment for our community!